Currently, consumers interested in acquiring services must first identify the service provider who is capable of providing the required services. This usually means perusing a telephone directory, which can become frustrating and time-consuming if the service providers telephoned are not immediately available. A phone book (whether a bound paper book or an electronic directory) is also not very effective if the service provider's business category is unknown.
The availability of some telephone book services over the Internet has somewhat lessoned the time involved in finding a service provider. The present Internet-based, systems, however, fail to address other issues such as facilitating the contact between the consumer and the service provider.
Also, the present services fail to provide a measurable way of deciding which service provider may fit a consumer's needs. For example, there may be many lawyers listed in a telephone book without specifying their expertise or other verifiable information.
Accordingly, with the present solutions, a consumer may have to spend a lot of time to find a service provider, research the service provider's expertise, experience and the like, and establish contact with the selected service provider.